


listen before i go

by lynxcafe (orphan_account)



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, M/M, contrary to popular belief i love minho and he deserves the world, i wrote this at 12 am and it's not proof read so .. forgive me, lapslock, survival show era bc emo hours
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2020-01-05 19:33:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18372650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/lynxcafe
Summary: jisung has to accept the reality – minho is leaving.





	listen before i go

minho is leaving, and that in itself hits stray kids much harder than any of them could've imagined. it's like being told you can have a cookie, but when you reach for it, you get a hard slap in the face instead. 

chan is affected more than anyone. he failed minho, and he failed the team. he can't sleep, he won't eat, and he drags his battered, bruised body out of bed every morning, looking like he could collapse at any second. woojin is more than worried. they all are. 

debuting together was meant to be a dream, something that was fulfilled. minho isn't part of their future anymore. but he's still trying – he tries and tries and tries. he's in the studio late at night, doing the same choreographies over and over, drilling them into his mind until his entire body is shaking from pure overexertion. 

chan knows. they all know. 

it's one of those nights again. minho is practicing. the digital clock on the wall reads 02:13 AM. minho's legs are trembling, and he refuses to sit down because he knows if he will, he won't be able to stand again.

minho is tired, he's exhausted, but maybe – just maybe – if he works himself harder, up to the very edge, he can make it. chan wants him to relax, but he can't talk. he's just as bad.

a staff member pops her head into the door, and minho pauses in his dance, looking up. "hi, sorry .. it's getting kind of late, isn't it? you look tired, you should get going soon." 

minho tries to smile, but judging by the way the woman's eyebrows furrow with concern afterwards, it probably came out looking a bit more like a pained grimace. "i'll go back to the dorms soon. thank you."

she nods, hesitating, her mouth suspended in an 'o' as if she wants to say more, but she decides against it. with a dip of her head, she closes the door. minho goes back to dancing.

after only a few minutes, there's another knock on the door, and minho stops once again, frustration bubbling up inside his chest. "who's there?"

a small voice comes through the door, muffled and uncertain. he just barely makes it out. "it's jisung.."

a head appears, round cheeks and wide almond eyes, dark circles prominent underneath. minho instantly feels a rush of affection, but he pushes it into the back of his mind. "what are you doing here at this hour?"

jisung takes this as a sign to come in – even though it isn't exactly. his shoulders are slumped, and the door closes behind his small frame with a click. "i was helping chan with producing. and besides, i wanted to see you, minho."

minho huffs. "that's hyung to you."

jisung cracks a smile, and even though it doesn't quite reach his eyes, it still makes minho's whole world seem a little brighter. 

jisung approaches, putting a cool hand to minho's elbow for support, his head tilting ever so slightly. "you look tired."

minho laughs bitterly, taken aback by his own tone. "that's the understatement of the century. i could say the same about you, though." 

jisung's empty smile creeps back onto his lips.

two broken boys, in a room with a stupid broken computer that always loops songs, exchanging equally broken smiles.

"so... it's really happening, huh."

this is the last thing minho wants to talk about. he finds a sudden interest in his shoelaces, and stares intently at them. "yeah."

"i..." jisung's voice is choked, held back, like he's trying desperately not to cry. all they do is try. minho is sick of trying. he's been trying all his life, and where has he ended up? 

minho shrugs. his voice is flat. "i'm eliminated. there's nothing we can do. you'll be fine." 

jisung spins minho towards him, his arm cradling minho's, his hand holding firmly onto his elbow. his eyes are wide, scared, even. "no i- i won't be fine, minho. it's not... it's not the same without you."

minho is the first one to shatter.

"look, jisung. there's nothing we can- we can't fucking do anything, okay?" his voice is quiet but harsh, and he instantly lets out a choked sob afterwards, averting his eyes.

in a split second, jisung's arms are around him, and his cool, sure hands are guiding minho's head into the crook of his neck. minho's shoulders start to shake, and he brings up his hands to clutch at jisung's back. 

another sob racks his body, and another and another until they all blur into this one torrent of tears and now jisung is crying too – one arm looped around minho while the other cradles his head. 

and all of a sudden they're not idols anymore. they're not celebrities, they're not artists. they're just two children – overwhelmed and terrified by everything they'll need to face in the near future. 

jisung holds minho, and minho cries and cries. it goes on for a good few minutes, until minho can breathe normally again, and he slowly pulls back, his voice wobbly. "oh my god, your shirt is soaked- i'm so sorry."

"my shirt is the least of my worries right now." jisung murmurs, and minho realised that silent tears are still dripping down his rounded cheeks, and his nose and eyes are blotchy and red. minho takes his hand, threading their fingers together, and pulls him over to the wall, where they sit together. 

they don't release their interlocked hands.

jisung brings up his unoccupied hand, wiping at his eyes.

and minho makes a mistake by leaning in and kissing him.

jisung stills at first, and minho's lips only brush his, shaky and hesitant. he pulls away. "fuck, i'm sorry."

minho isn't expecting what happens next – jisung's hand coming up to his neck and tugging him closer, until they're kissing again, and minho melts into it.

_taste me, the salty tears on my cheek._

jisung breaks away, exhaling quietly, his eyes cast down, still blinking away the tears that fill them. his thumb rubs over the back of minho's hand. 

_i'm not okay, i feel so scattered._

"i should go..." he whispers, but makes no move to actually get up. minho pulls on his hand, making him fall into another hug. minho hates goodbyes. 

jisung completely relaxes into minho's body, his forehead resting on his collarbone. minho starts to sing softly, his hoarse voice breaking through the suffocating silence of the practice room. jisung's tears eventually slow, and he slings an arm around minho's waist, and minho pushes his nose into his hair – inhaling the scent of peach shampoo and the salty tang of sweat and tears.

neither of them say anything when minho stops singing. ten minutes pass until jisung shifts, before pulling back so suddenly that you'd think minho had bitten him. "i've got to go. i can't- we can't do this. there's no way we can do this, i-"

minho hangs his head, squeezing jisung's hand. his voice comes out as a tiny whisper. "i'll miss you."

jisung stops and his eyes flutter closed. he turns back and cups minho's face, wiping away the last of his tears with his thumbs. "you're a strong hyung," he says, his voice firm and so, so certain, "you can pull through, okay? we'll all miss you."

all minho can manage is a weak nod.

jisung stands and lets go of his hand, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. "i'm.. i'm going back to the dorms now. just... keep trying, minho hyung? i'll always be cheering for you, you know?"

"i'm sorry." minho says – his voice has shrunk into that of a child's. 

"i am too, hyung. i really am."

the quiet click of the door is the only thing that tells minho jisung is gone. 

_tell me love is endless._

**Author's Note:**

> i'm like 90% positive people hate it when authors end their fics angstily so ... please don't kill me– anyway this was written in the middle of the night nd i was tired shbdnshdj ANYWAYS :00 this is my first fic on here so hii !! i love minsung so you probably won't be seeing much else from me uwu
> 
> comments and kudos appreciated !!ヾ(*'▽'*)


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